Fish beheading and entrails-removing machine



O. HOVDE N FISH BEHEADING AND ENTRAILS REMQVING MACHINE lJuly 7, 1925.

Filed Jul'y 9; 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 atfozumq July 7, 1925. 1,544,986

O. HOVDEN FISH BEHEADING AND ENTRALS REMOVING MACHINE Filed July 9, 19252 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q g *u u) N) f i I l W n; 'f um l N l l vZwyf/ 7 f H ld :l

Y r I f v Y .Mmm 7\/ Q KS) N Y (V mm Q ,NMi/f i NNNNW Q m y i1 y OMVHoz/DEN 'Patented my 7, 1925'.

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

OLAV HOVDEN, OF MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA.

FISH BEHEADING AND ENTBAILS-REMOVING MACHINE.

`Application -filed July 9,

Be it known that I, OLAV Hovnnn, a citii zen of the United States,residing -at Montemachine of this class which will receive fish fromasupply hopper and direct and so position the same that their heads 'maybe cut off and their entrails removed; second, to

provide a machine of this class in'which the i fish from the supplyhopper are always fed to the cutting means of the machine in the sameway, and in which the heads of the fish are cut ofil by partiallycutting the back side and partially the under side of the fisli, butjinwhich the knife will not cut through Athe entrails; third, to provide amachine of this class in which the fish, with the heads partially cutoff, are fed past a paddle wheel which engages the heads of the fishand-removes the same from theVv body by impact, and at the same timeremoves the entrails from the body; fourth, to provide a machine of thisclass in which an over supply of fish fed into the machine will bereturned, by overflow means, to the supply hopper; fifth, to provide.novel fish directing, turning and positioning means in connection witha machine of this class; sixth, to provide novel incising' means for theback and under sides of the fish; seventh, to provide as a whole anovelly constructed machine of this class,- and eighth, to provide amachine of this class which is very simple and economical ofconstruction proportionate tol its functions, durable, efficient, andwhich will not readily deteriorate or get out oforder.

lVithfthese and other objects in view, as will appear hereinafter, myinvention consists of -certain novel features of construction,combination and arrangement of parts and portions as will be hereinafterdescribed in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings and to the characters ofreference thereon, which forma part of this application, in which:

lFigure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of myfishv beheading and entrailsremoving ma- 1923. serial N0.- 650,415.

, chine; Fig. 2. is a transverse sectional view of the chute by means ofwhich the fish are directed from the feed conveyer to the feed hopper,with the section taken through 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig.- 3 is asimilar'sectiorlal view of said chute with the section taken through 3-3of Fig. 1; Fig. 4'is a fragmentary side elevational view of my machinewith certain parts and portions thereof removed and others broken awayand in section to facilitatethe illustration; Fig. 5 is a` sectional'elevational view thereof, taken through 5-5.

of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6,is a fragmentary sectional elevational view, takenthrough the ,feed wheel, as indicated by 6-6 in Fig. 4.

Like. characters of reference refer-to similar parts and oortionsthroughout the sev eral views of thedrawings.l

The supply hopper 1, frame 2, conveyer 3, sprockets 4, shafts 5, sidemembers 6, conveyer bottom plate 7 ,trough 8, chutes 9 andy 10, feedhoppers 11, overflow chutes` 12, feed wheels 13, shaft 14, journalmembers 15, conveyers 16, sprockets 17, shafts 18, journals 19 and 20,waste bins 21, gears 22, drive pulley 2,3, guard 24, extractors 25,supports 26, cutting members 27, spindle 28, journal 29, gears 30 and31, shaft 32, journal 33, gears 34 'and 35, positionin guide members 36,stationary cuttingvmem ers 37, paddle wheels 38, journals 39 and 40,pulleys 41, fish retaining members 42, and the bins 43, constitute theprincipal parts and portions of my fish beheading and ventrails removingmachine. n

' The supply hopper 1, which supplies the machine with fish to betreated for packing or canning, is supported o n a frame 2 and isprovided with a downwardly convergin bottom and an opening at its lowerend.

bottomless and endless conveyer 3 is mounted contiguous to said hopperso that the samel passes the opening at thelower end of the supplyhopper land consists of a pair of endless link chains 3a, mounted onsprockets 4, and cleats 3b secured at their ends Vto 4said chains. The,sprockets 4 are mounted on shafts 5 which are revolubly supported injournals 2a mounted on the frame-2. Cnc of said shafts is provided witha pulley 5a for driving-.said conveyer. `Positioned onl either side ofthe conveyer 3, contiguous tothe ends of the cleats thereon'andextending from the supply hopper 1 forwardly and upwardly to. its frontend, are the side members 6 which prevent the fish from vfalling fromthe sides of the conveyer. Positioned below the cleats 3b of theconveyer is the plate 7 which eX- tends from below the hopper 1forwardly to the forward end of the conveyer and between the forwardsprockets 4. Said plate 7 is secured to the side members 6 intermediatethe sprockets and below the chains 3, while the side members 6 aresupported respectively at their rear and front ends by the hopper 1 andjournals 2a. At the forward end of the conveyer 3 is positioned theoverfiow trough 8, which is supported by the side members 6. It will benoted that the fish carried by the conveyer over the plate 7 anddischarged into the overflow trough 8 are returned to the supply hopperin any convenient manner, preferably by gravity, when space permits thepositioning of the supply hopper low enough. The bottom plate 7supporting the fish between the cleats; 3b of the conveyer is providedwith openings 7 a and 7b, one on either side of the median line of theconveyer and one positioned forwardly of the other, substantially asshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The opening 7a communicates with theone end of the chute 9, which chute is considerably enlarged at said endand which gradually decreases in width towards its other end, whichlatter end communicates with a vertical narrow feed hopper 11, one beingpositioned on either side of the machine. The chute 9 extends in curvedform from the conveyer to the feed hopper and is inclined downwardly sothat the fish will be fed from the conveyer to the feed hopper bygravity. The opening 7b communicates with the one end of the chute 10,which is similarly shaped, constructed and positioned and is connectedat its other end with the other feed hopper 11 in a similar manner.

It will be noted that as the fish are singly fed into and-conveyedupwardly by the'conveyer3, some positioned with the heads in onedirection and others in the other direction, they will be discharged inone or-the other of the chutes 9 and 10 through the opening 7a or 7b,depending upon their position. It will be here noted that the forwardhalf of the fish is heavier than its rearl half and they willconsequently be overbalanced when carried forwardly by the conveyer overthe respective openings in the bottom plate 7.

The feed hoppers 11 are provided at their upper ends and outer sideswith openings 11n so that when the feed hoppers are filled with fish,other fish discharged into said hoppers from thev chutes 9 and 10 willbe carried on through the hopper by reason of their momentum into the,overflow chutes 12, positioned on either side of said feed hoppers andwhich communicate with the openings 11 therein, and by reason of whichthe surplus fish are carried back to the supply hopper by any convenientmeans. Below each of said feed hoppers are positioned the feed wheels 13`mounted on the shaft 14= revolubly mounted in thejournal members 15.Said feed wheels are provided with a plurality of longitudinal slots orpockets 13a in their outer faces to receive the fish, and also with sideplates 13b to retain the fish in position in saidpockets. Below each ofsaid feed wheels are positioned the endless pocket conveyers 16,whichconsist of a plurality of channels or pocket members 16a securedintermediate their ends on their back sides to the link chains 1Gb,which are mounted on the sprockets 17, secured to the shafts 18, therear one of which is revolubly mounted in the journal members 15 and theforward one of which is mounted in the journals 19 and 20, the formerbeing preferably supported on the bins 21 and the latter on S the frame2. rlhe shafts 14 and 18 are provided at their one end with gears 22,which mesh with each other, and are adapted to operate lthe feed wheels13 andthe conveyers 16 at the same peripheral speed, by reason of whichthe pockets or channels in the feed wheels 13 and the conveyers 16 aresynchronized or coincide at all times. The shaft 18 is also providedwith a drive pulley 23 for driving the conveyer 16, the feed wheels andthe cutting means. A guard 24 is positioned around a portion of the feedwheels 13 and extends from the feed hopper to the conveyer 16 to retainthe fish in the pockets therein. The feed wheels 13 are provided 100with circumferential grooves 13C, which provide clearance for theresilient extractors 25, which are positioned at the lower portions ofthe feed wheels, are 'supported on the support 26, and extend into thefeed wheels, substantially as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, tofacilitate the discharge of the fish from the feed wheels into theconveyers 16.

At the outer sidesand intermediate the ends of the conveyers 16 arepositioned the cut- N0 ting members 27, which are secured at the ends ofthe spindle 28, which is revolubly mounted in the journal 29, supportedon the frame 2. Said cutting members are provided with a plurality ofspiral cutting edges 27, which permit of slower speed of the cuttingmembers as well as greater efficiency. Said cutting members are drivenby means of a gear 30 secured to the spindle 28, which meshes with agear 31 secured to 120 the shaft 32, revolubly mounted in the jour'-4nal 33 supported on the frame 2. Also mounted on and keyed to the shaft32 is a gear 34 vwhich meshes with and is driven b a gear 35 mounted onand keyed to the shaft 12" 14. At the outer sides of the conveyors 16and spaced from the outer edges thereof are the positioning guidemembers 36, which are adjustably supported on the journal members 15 andon brackets se- 130 ythe outer sides of the conveyers 16 and they arecured to the outside of the bins 21, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of thedrawings. It will be noted that said guide members extend beyond theouter sides of the feed wheels 13 and thence-inwardly towards theconveyers, which guide members permit adjustment of the length of thehead end of the fish to be cut off by the cutting members 27. It willalso be noted that the lower edges of the cutting members 27 extend towithin a short distance of thebottom of the channels or pockets in theconveyers 16, and therefore cut only through the back ofthe fish.Positioned directly below the cutting members 27 and extending forwardlytherefrom are the combination cutting and retaining members-37, whichare secured to the upper elges of the bins 21, substantially as shown inig 5 of the drawings. The cuttin edges of' the cutting members 37consist o small sharp saw teeth, which extend a .short distance abovethe lower portion of the channels in the conveyers V16 and below.l thelower portion of the cutting members 27, leaving a 'space between thecutting edges thereof' and of the' members 27 so that the entrails willnot be incised. The teeth of the cutting members 37 are also bentoutwardly so that the entrails will not be torn or ruptured when beingremoved vfrom the body of the fish.. Also positioned at the outer sidesof the conveyers 16 and forwardly from the cutting members 27 are thepaddle wheels 38 revolubly mounted in the journals 39 and 40, supportedon the bins 21. The shafts 38 of said paddle wheels are providedwithpulleys 41 for driving the same. A retaining member 42 is positionedforwardly from and in line with the cutting' members 27 adjacent s1-tioned upwardly and spaced from eac of the members 37. Said members 37and 42 retain the fish in the pockets or channels of the conveyers whenthe heads of the-same yare pulled off' by the paddles of the paddlewheels 38, the edibleportions of the fish being carried to the forwardAend of the conveyers from which theyare discharged into the bins 43.

It will be noted that the fish are discharged into the .chutes 9 and 10with their heads foremost and by reason of the heavier back kportions ofthe fish and the. curvature and shape of said chutes, the fish aregradually turned on their backs, in which position discharged into thefeed 'hopper 11 and also into the feed wheels 13. The discharge of thefish .from the feed Wheels being on the lower side thereof positions thefish in the channels or pockets of the conveyers 16 with their backsupwardly. The adjustable guides 36 so position the fish in the conveyers16 that the heads of the` same are cut off at substantially equaldistarces from the forward ends, making the fish uniform in tained inthe conveyers by means of the members 37 and 42, while the paddle wheelsremove the head as well as the entrails.

It is obvious from the previous description and accompanying drawingsthat there is provided a structure as aimed at and set forth in the4objects of the invention, and though I have shown and-described aparticular construction, combination and arrangement of partsandportions,4 I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction,combination and arrangement, but desire to'include in the scope of myinvention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially asset forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and' desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine of the class described, including a fishA positioningmeans, spaced apart cutting members ywith their cutting edgespositionedA contiguous to each other and to-said fishpositioning means,and a `wrotating member "provided, with outwardly extending' portionsadapted to vengage the heads ,of said fish.

. 2. A. machine of the class described, including a fish positioningmeans, spaced apart cutting members with their cutting edges .positionedcontiguous to each other and to said 'fish positioning means, a rotatingmember provided withl outwardly extending portions adaptedv to. engagethe heads of?" said fisli after being cut by saidcutting members, andguides forsaid fish.

3. A machine of the class described, including a fish positioning means,spaced apart cutting members with their cutting edges positionedcontiguous to each other and to said'fish positioning means, ajrotatingember provided with outwardly' exten ing portions adapted tof engage theheads of said fish, and retaining means positioned adjacent said fishpositioning'means and one of said cutting members for retaining the fishin positionv in said positioning means. A

4. A machine of the class described, including a conveyer provided withpockets, a

'cutting member positioned contiguous thereto vand to one side thereof,adapted to cut partially through the fish, a means positioned contiguousthereto for severing the head from the body of the fish, and means inconnection with said conveyer for singly positioning the fish in saidconveyer with their backs uppermost. I

5. A machine of the class described, in-

cluding a hopper, a bottomless conveyer,

consisting of transversely positioned cleats, positioned contiguous tothe lower end of said hopper, a plate positioned below the upper portionof said conveyer and on the side opposite from said hopper, said platebeing provided with a pair o-f spaced apart offset openings, anddownwardly inclined chutes communicating with the openings in saidplate.

6. A machine of the class described, including a hopper, a bottomlessconveyer, consisting of transversely positioned cleats, positionedcontiguous to the lower end of said hopper, a late positioned below theupper portion o said conveyer and on the side opposite from said hopper,said plate being3provided with a pair of spaced apart offset' openings,downwardly inclined chutes communicating with the openings in saidplate, and narrow vertical feed hoppers communicating with the lowerfree ends of said chutes.

7. A machine of the class described, vincluding a hopper, a bottomlessconveyer, consisting of transversely positioned cleats, positionedcontiguous to the lower en'd of said hopper, a plate positioned belowthe upper portion of said conveyer and on the side opposite from saidhopper, said plate being provided with a pair of spaced apart offsetopenings, downwardly inclined, curvedbottomed chutes communicating withthe openings in said plate, narrow vertical feed hoppers communicatingwith the lower free ends of said chutes, and overflow means inconnection with said conveyer and said feed hoppers, adapted tocommunicate with said supply hopper.

8. Ai machine of the class described, in-

cluding a hopper, a bottomless conveyer, consisting of transverselypositioned cleats, positioned contiguous to the lower end of saidhopper, a plate positioned below the upper portion of said conveyer andon the side opposite from Vsaid hopper, said plate being provided with apair of spaced apart.

offset openings, downwardly inclined chutes communicating with theopenings in'said plate, narrow vertical feed hoppers communicating withthe lower free ends of said chutes, and afeed wheel, provided with aplurality of pockets in its periphery, communicating with the lower endsof said feed hoppers. f

i 9. A machinepof the class described, in-

cluding a hopper, a bottomless conveyer' positioned contiguous to thelower end of said hopper, a` plate positioned below the upper portion ofsaid conveyer and on the side opposite from said hopper, downwardlyinclined chutes communicating with said conveyer, feed wheels providedwith pockets in their peripheries adapted to communicate with the lowerends of said chutes, and conside opposite from said hopper, downwardlyinclined chutes communicating with said conveyer, feed wheels providedwith pockets in their peripheries adapted to communicate with the lowerends of said chutes, conveyers, provided with transverse pockets,positioned at the lower portions of said feed wheels, the pocketsthereof corresponding with and synchronized with the pockets of saidfeed wheels, cutting means positioned on the outer side of said latterconveyers and contiguous. thereto, and a means for engaging the heads offish positioned in said conveyers,

ll. A machine of the class described, in` cluding a hopper, a bottomlessconveyer positioned contiguous to the lower end of said portion of saidconveyer and on the side opposite from said hopper, downwardly inclinedchutes communicating with said conveyer, feed wheels provided withpockets in their peripheries adapted to communicate with the lower endsof said chutes, conveyers, provided with transverse pockets, positionedat the lower portions of said feed wheels, the pockets thereofcorresponding with and synchronized with the pockets of said feedwheels, and a pair of spaced apart cutting members positioned l adjacentsaid latter conveyers with their cutting edges positioned from thebottom of the pockets thereof.

12. A machine of the class described, including a hopper, a bottomlessconveyer positioned contiguous to the lower end of said hopper, a platepositioned below the upper portion of said conveyer and on the side opposite from said hopper, downwardly inclined chutes communicating withsaid conveyer feed wheels provided with pockets in their peripheriesadapted to communicate with the lower ends of said chutes, con-A veyers,provided with transverse pockets, positioned at the lower portions ofsaid feed wheels, the pockets thereof corresponding with andsynchronized with the pockets of said feed wheels, a4 pair of spaced aart cutting members positioned adjacent aid latter conveyers with theircutting edges positioned from the bottom of the pockets thereof, and arevolubly mounted paddle wheel hopper, a plate positioned below theupper positioned contiguous to said cutting members and said latterconveyers.

13. A machine of the class described, including a fish positioningmeans, and a pair 5 of cutting members positioned contiguous theretowith the cutting edges of said cutting members positioned opposite eachother and spaced from each iother.

14. A machine of the class described, in- 10 cluding a fish positioningmeans, a pair of cutting members positioned conti uous thereto with thecutting edges of sai cutting members positioned opposite each other andspaced froml each other, and impact means for engaging the heads of saidish.

In testimon whereof, I have hereunto set myhand at onterey, California,this- 3d day of J illy, 1923.

oLAV HoVDEN.

